Mehmed Fuad Pasha (1814 – February 12, 1869), sometimes known as Keçecizade Mehmed Fuad Pasha and commonly known as Fuad Pasha, was an
Ottoman administrator and statesman, who is known for his prominent role in the
Tanzimat
The (, , lit. 'Reorganization') was a period of liberal reforms in the Ottoman Empire that began with the Edict of Gülhane of 1839 and ended with the First Constitutional Era in 1876. Driven by reformist statesmen such as Mustafa Reşid Pash ...
reforms of the mid-19th-century
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
, as well as his leadership during the
1860 Mount Lebanon civil war
The 1860 civil conflict in Mount Lebanon and Damascus, also known as the 1860 Christian–Druze war, was a civil conflict in Mount Lebanon during Ottoman rule in 1860–1861 fought mainly between the local Druze and Christians.
Following decisiv ...
in
Syria
Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
. He represented a modern Ottoman era, given his openness to European-style modernization as well as the reforms he helped to enact.
Among other posts, he served as
Grand Vizier
Grand vizier (; ; ) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. It was first held by officials in the later Abbasid Caliphate. It was then held in the Ottoman Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Soko ...
, the equivalent of Prime Minister, on two occasions between 1861 and 1866. He is often regarded, along with
Mehmed Emin Âli Pasha
Mehmed Emin Âlî Pasha, also spelled as Mehmed Emin Aali (5 March 1815 – 7 September 1871), commonly known as Ali Pasha, was a Turkish people, Turkish–Ottoman Empire, Ottoman statesman during the Tanzimat period, best known as the architec ...
, as one of the most influential Ottoman statesmen, who favoured a French-inspired
civil code
A civil code is a codification of private law relating to property law, property, family law, family, and law of obligations, obligations.
A jurisdiction that has a civil code generally also has a code of civil procedure. In some jurisdiction ...
for the newly established
civil courts in 1868.
Fuad Pasha was a fervent supporter of keeping the empire an
absolute monarchy, rejecting the ideas of being legally bounded or restricted by a
constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed.
When these pri ...
or
legislature
A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial power ...
. He often clashed with
liberal intellectuals like
Namık Kemal
Namık Kemal (, ; ; 21 December 1840 – 2 December 1888) was an Ottoman writer, poet, democrat, intellectual, reformer, journalist, playwright, and political activist who was influential in the formation of the Young Ottomans and their stru ...
,
Ziya Pasha
Ziya Pasha, the pseudonym of Abdul Hamid Ziyaeddin (1829, Constantinople – 17 May 1880, Adana), was an Ottoman writer, translator and administrator. He was one of the most important authors during the Tanzimat period of the Ottoman Empire, alo ...
and
İbrahim Şinasi
İbrahim Şinasi Efendi (; 5 August 1826 – 13 September 1871) was a pioneering Ottoman Empire, Ottoman intellectual, founder of Turkish dramaturgy, author, journalist, translator, playwright, linguist and newspaper editor. He was the innovato ...
.
Early life
Fuad Pasha was born in 1814 to a prominent
ulema
In Islam, the ''ulama'' ( ; also spelled ''ulema''; ; singular ; feminine singular , plural ) are scholars of Islamic doctrine and law. They are considered the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam.
"Ulama ...
family. His father, , was a famous poet, and Fuad continued this trend as both a littérateur and a poet. He received a
medrese
Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes Romanization of Arabic, romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any Educational institution, type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whet ...
education but had to leave his education when his father was dismissed and banished to the provinces.
[Shaw, Stanford J., and Ezel Kural Shaw. History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey Volume II: Reform, Revolution, and Republic: The Rise of Modern Turkey, 1808-1975. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1977] His mother was a descendant of
Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha a 17th-century
grand vizier
Grand vizier (; ; ) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. It was first held by officials in the later Abbasid Caliphate. It was then held in the Ottoman Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Soko ...
. He studied in the medical school ''Tibhane-i Amire'' for four years with no family support and then proceeded to serve as a doctor for the Admiralty.
[Zachs, Fruma. "'Novice' or 'Heaven-Born' Diplomat? Lord Dufferin's Plan for a 'Province of Syria': Beirut, 1860-61." Middle Eastern Studies. no. 3 (2000): 160-176.]
Career beginnings
Fuad Pasha was fluent in French, which led him to a job as scribe to the governor of
Tunisia
Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...
, Tahir Pasha, from 1832 to 1836. Upon the governor's death, Fuad Pasha entered the service of the
Grand Vizier
Grand vizier (; ; ) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. It was first held by officials in the later Abbasid Caliphate. It was then held in the Ottoman Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Soko ...
,
Mustafa Reşid Pasha
Mustafa Reşid Pasha (; literally ''Mustafa Reshid Pasha''; 13 March 1800 – 7 January 1858) was an Ottoman Turkish statesman and diplomat, known best as the chief architect behind the imperial Ottoman government reforms known as Tanzimat.
...
, and began working with
Mehmed Emin Âli Pasha
Mehmed Emin Âlî Pasha, also spelled as Mehmed Emin Aali (5 March 1815 – 7 September 1871), commonly known as Ali Pasha, was a Turkish people, Turkish–Ottoman Empire, Ottoman statesman during the Tanzimat period, best known as the architec ...
. His title, "
Pasha
Pasha (; ; ) was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitary, dignitaries, and others. ''Pasha'' was also one of the highest titles in the 20th-century Kingdom of ...
", was given to a high-ranking member of the
Ottoman government and could only be given by the
Sultan
Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...
as an honorary title. Mehmed Emin Aali had been in the Grand Vizier's service for a considerable amount of time. While Mustafa Reşid and Mehmed Emin Aali were on a diplomatic trip to London, Fuad secured a position as the
First Translator of the Porte, a position which he held from 1838 to 1852.
Fuad continued to study history, modern languages, international law, and political economics with the hope of rising to a diplomatic career.
His translator position led him to become a prótege of Mustafa Reşid's while he was in power for the first two years after the
Edict of Gülhane from 1839 to 1841 and again from 1846 to 1852. The Edict was launched by Sultan
Abdülmecid I
Abdülmecid I (, ; 25 April 182325 June 1861) was the 31st sultan of the Ottoman Empire. He succeeded his father Mahmud II on 2 July 1839. His reign was notable for the rise of nationalist movements within the empire's territories.
Abdülmecid's ...
at the recommendation of Mustafa Reşid and effectively began the
Tanzimat
The (, , lit. 'Reorganization') was a period of liberal reforms in the Ottoman Empire that began with the Edict of Gülhane of 1839 and ended with the First Constitutional Era in 1876. Driven by reformist statesmen such as Mustafa Reşid Pash ...
reforms. Although Mehmed Emin Aali and Fuad were the same age, Fuad was somewhat slower in rising to position.
This changed, however, in 1848 when Fuad demonstrated his skills in his negotiations with Russian officials in
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
and
St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...
regarding refugees flooding into the Empire as a result of the
1848 revolutions
The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...
in Europe. Czar
Nicholas I of Russia
Nicholas I, group=pron (Russian language, Russian: Николай I Павлович; – ) was Emperor of Russia, List of rulers of Partitioned Poland#Kings of the Kingdom of Poland, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 18 ...
demanded the extradition of the men who had started the revolutions who were now seeking refuge in the Empire. Mustafa Reşid had previously refused the Czar's demands and the threat of war was growing. Fuad, however, traveled to St. Petersburg and, through his negotiations, the
Czar
Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...
relinquished his demands for extradition and settled for Fuad's promise that the revolutionaries would be kept far from the Russian borders. Fuad demonstrated this same talent for negotiations in 1852 when he worked with
Muhammad Ali of Egypt
Muhammad Ali (4 March 1769 – 2 August 1849) was the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman Albanians, Albanian viceroy and governor who became the ''de facto'' ruler of History of Egypt under the Muhammad Ali dynasty, Egypt from 1805 to 1848, widely consi ...
's successor,
Prince Abbas, in
Egypt
Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
.
Because of these diplomatic successes, Fuad became Mehmed Emin Aali's equal, both in political rank and influence with Mustafa Reşid. Mustafa Reşid was removed as Grand Vizier in 1852 by the sultan and Mehmed Emin Aali was then named as his successor. Mehmed Emin Aali recommended to the Sultan that Fuad succeed him as
Foreign Minister
In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...
, and in 1852, this recommendation was accepted. The beginning of Fuad's term as Foreign Minister and Mehmed Emin Aali's as Grand Vizier marked an important shift in Ottoman foreign policy and sharp division between Mustafa Reşid and his former protégés. While Mustafa Reşid had displayed a preference for Great Britain, Fuad and Mehmed Emin Aali were strong supporters of France.
This, however, would ultimately lead to their fall as both men supported France in the
1860 Mount Lebanon civil war
The 1860 civil conflict in Mount Lebanon and Damascus, also known as the 1860 Christian–Druze war, was a civil conflict in Mount Lebanon during Ottoman rule in 1860–1861 fought mainly between the local Druze and Christians.
Following decisiv ...
between the
Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
Maronites
Maronites (; ) are a Syriac Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant (particularly Lebanon) whose members belong to the Maronite Church. The largest concentration has traditionally resided near Mount ...
(supported by the French), and the
Druze
The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...
Muslims
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
(supported by the British and, subsequently, Mustafa Reşid) over power in
Mount Lebanon
Mount Lebanon (, ; , ; ) is a mountain range in Lebanon. It is about long and averages above in elevation, with its peak at . The range provides a typical alpine climate year-round.
Mount Lebanon is well-known for its snow-covered mountains, ...
before the
Crimean War
The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...
.
Because of this fall, both Fuad and Mehmed Emin Aali took a step back from their governmental careers and turned to the Council of the Tanzimat, of which Mehmed Emin Aali was chairman and Fuad was a member.
Tanzimat period
Member of the Council of the Tanzimat
Fuad Pasha was an important reformer during the Tanzimat period. The goal of the program was to, “promote reform, fend off the powers and forestall rebellion”.
[Davison, Roderic H. “Turkish Attitudes Concerning Christian-Muslim Equality in the Nineteenth Century.” The American Historical Review, Vol. 59, No. 4 (Jul., 1954), pp. 844–864.] The Council of the Tanzimat was established to codify the actions enacted by the Tanzimat reforms. These reforms were designed to centralize power through “modernization
ndcentralization” to “increase revenue
ndprevent fragmentation”.
[Martin, Richard C. Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World Volume II. New York: Macmillan Reference, 2004] It was enacted on November 3, 1839 through an imperial decree given by Mustafa Reşid Pasa called the
Edict of Gülhane. This period demonstrated the Empire's increased efforts towards Westernization and acceptance by the
Concert of Europe
The Concert of Europe was a general agreement among the great powers of 19th-century Europe to maintain the European balance of power, political boundaries, and spheres of influence. Never a perfect unity and subject to disputes and jockeying ...
,
[Hanigolu, M. Sukru. A Brief History of the Late Ottoman Empire. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2008.] as well, as Western schools were opened to train bureaucrats for future governmental positions.
[Weiker, Walter F. "The Ottoman Bureaucracy: Modernization and Reform." Administrative Science Quarterly. no. 3 (1968): 451-470] Councils of State, Justice, and Education were all established, as well as provincial councils to represent all religious and social groups residing in the Empire. Fuad hoped that the Tanzimat reforms would, “find salvation for the empire by creating among its peoples the bond of equal citizenship based on Ottoman nationality”.
He realized the importance of change and saw it as a necessary evolution that the Ottoman Empire needed to make. However, in his efforts to create an image of a modern Ottoman Empire, Fuad Pasha believed that by giving non-Muslim subjects of the Empire equal rights via the
Millet
Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most millets belong to the tribe Paniceae.
Millets are important crops in the Semi-arid climate, ...
system would “dull their nationalist and separatist tendencies.” He, along with the other three reformers, believed that in order to save the empire, a sense of “Ottomanism” needed to be created. The goal was to create an “Ottoman” nation and unify the Jews, Christians, and Muslims into an Ottoman nationality. The Council of the Tanzimat took complete charge of preparing legislation, and because both Fuad and Ali wanted immediate progress, the Council was made separate from the ministries and the chairman was “given direct access to the sultan,”
which represented increasing efforts towards centralization. The old
Supreme Council, however, still remained an influential factor as its existence and functions, though de jure limited to judicial matters, caused much confusion.
Chairman of the Council of the Tanzimat
In 1856, Fuat was given the task of reforming the financial and provincial problems that plagued the Empire and was thus named chairman of the Council of the Tanzimat. These stemmed from “a shortage of trained bureaucrats and inadequacies in tax collection.”
Though reforms had been started by Resid in 1841, their initial success was interrupted by the outbreak of the
Crimean War
The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...
. Two years of study resulted in the Provincial Regulation of 1858. The main idea behind the Regulation was concentrating power back into the offices of the provincial governors and spreading the Tanzimat reforms across the entire Empire. It kept the provincial government structure that was already in place, but ensured that the governors of each province were the main source of authority as well as the chief representative of the central government in Istanbul through whom, all communications with the central government were made. In addition to administration councils’ structures being reformed, a Cadastral Department in each province was responsible for registering every male resident, whether they be Muslim or non-Muslim, Ottoman or foreign resident. Each of these residents was issued a “population tax certificate" (''vergi nüfus tezkeresi'') which stated his tax obligation and also served as an identity card.”
A new conscription system was also introduced that better reflected the needs and population makeup of each province. Fuat also worked on reforming the financial system of the Empire. These reforms included the introduction of an annual budget system and the budgets of each ministry subject to the scrutiny of the treasury to keep in check with annual revenues. To increase these revenues, the inefficient
tax farming
Farming or tax-farming is a technique of financial management in which the management of a variable revenue stream is assigned by legal contract to a third party and the holder of the revenue stream receives fixed periodic rents from the contr ...
system was ended in 1861 with the establishment of the Excise Tax Administration which was separate from the bureaucracy of the
Ministry of Finance
A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position .
A ministry of finance's portfoli ...
and replaced the former Customs Administration.
Foreign Minister 1858-1860: The Mount Lebanon Crisis

In 1860,
violence broke out in the
Mount Lebanon
Mount Lebanon (, ; , ; ) is a mountain range in Lebanon. It is about long and averages above in elevation, with its peak at . The range provides a typical alpine climate year-round.
Mount Lebanon is well-known for its snow-covered mountains, ...
region of modern-day
Lebanon
Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
between the
Maronite
Maronites (; ) are a Syriac Christianity, Syriac Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant (particularly Lebanon) whose members belong to the Maronite Church. The largest concentration has traditionally re ...
and
Druze
The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...
communities over which group would control the region. Ultimately, the Druzes dominated and pillage nearly every Maronite town nearby. Fuad, as the foreign minister was sent to investigate these massacres and carry out the Empire’s foreign policy initiatives. Due to his success at executing the changes of the Tanzimat program, Fuad was sent to Syria and arrived in
Beirut
Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...
on July 17, 1860, armed with extreme power granted to him by the Sultan. He brought in a nationalistic viewpoint that these conflicts were “local sectarian characteristics that Ottoman reform ultimately would discipline.”
[Makdisi, Ussama. "After 1860: Debating Religion, Reform, and Nationalism in the Ottoman Empire." International Journal of Middle East Studies. no. 4 (2002): 601-617] He was sent by
Sultan Abdulmecid along with the new Western-style army to work with a newly established International Commission (Britain, France,
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
, Russia, and
Prussia
Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
) to bring stability to the region. Fuad began what some have called a “reign of terror”
in which he executed hundreds of the accused pillagers, arrested Druze leaders, and sentenced them to death after a trial in a military court for “failing to protect the Christians”.
His rather strict reaction to the Mount Lebanon crisis reflected a push towards modernity and order throughout the Empire, as well as a growing sentiment of nationalism called ''
Osmanlilik'',
as demonstrated in a statement he gave to the people of Syria in 1861, announcing his return to Istanbul. He referred to the power of the
Sultan
Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...
as a “father-figure” who must be obeyed lest they suffer his merciless punishment, but who also treated all of his subjects with equality, regardless of their religion. This strictness also reflects the Empire's immense desire to prove to its counterparts in Europe that it was fully capable of acting in accordance with modern law, especially considering the deployment of European troops to Syria in July 1860.
[Pogany, Istvan. "Humanitarian Intervention in International Law: The French Intervention in Syria Re-Examined." The International and Comparative Law Quarterly. no. 1 (1986): 182-190] Fuad chaired the aforementioned International Commission, called the Beirut Committee, which established the reorganization of
Mount Lebanon
Mount Lebanon (, ; , ; ) is a mountain range in Lebanon. It is about long and averages above in elevation, with its peak at . The range provides a typical alpine climate year-round.
Mount Lebanon is well-known for its snow-covered mountains, ...
in March 1861. In this,
Mount Lebanon
Mount Lebanon (, ; , ; ) is a mountain range in Lebanon. It is about long and averages above in elevation, with its peak at . The range provides a typical alpine climate year-round.
Mount Lebanon is well-known for its snow-covered mountains, ...
would remain a subject of the
Sublime Porte
The Sublime Porte, also known as the Ottoman Porte or High Porte ( or ''Babıali''; ), was a synecdoche or metaphor used to refer collectively to the central government of the Ottoman Empire in Istanbul. It is particularly referred to the buildi ...
and would be “ruled by a non-local Christian governor, independent from the governors of Beirut and Damascus.”
Fuad worked closely with Great Britain's representative to the Committee,
Lord Dufferin, as they both had similar interests in preventing French domination in the region. Though Dufferin spoke critically of the corruption and lack of communication he believed to exist in the Empire, he proposed the creation of a semi-independent Syria with Fuad as a “governor-general”
This was due to Dufferin's great respect towards Fuad, whom he described as “tall, handsom, well-versed in French, and of charming manners.”
Fuad, however, signed an agreement General de Beaufort, the commander of the French troops, in order to use the French to their advantage in the region. This smooth diplomatic skill was attributed to his sense of humor, and “subtlety and tact of the polished diplomat.”
This agreement resulted in the establishment of the Law of the Provinces, of which Fuad was an architect, which created the province of
Syria
Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
.
Grand Vizier, 1861–1863, 1863–1866
In 1861, Sultan
Abdülaziz
Abdulaziz (; ; 8 February 18304 June 1876) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 25 June 1861 to 30 May 1876, when he was 1876 Ottoman coup d'état, overthrown in a government coup. He was a son of Sultan Mahmud II and succeeded his brother ...
named Fuad as
Grand Vizier
Grand vizier (; ; ) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. It was first held by officials in the later Abbasid Caliphate. It was then held in the Ottoman Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Soko ...
, replacing his colleague
Mehmed Emin Âli Pasha
Mehmed Emin Âlî Pasha, also spelled as Mehmed Emin Aali (5 March 1815 – 7 September 1871), commonly known as Ali Pasha, was a Turkish people, Turkish–Ottoman Empire, Ottoman statesman during the Tanzimat period, best known as the architec ...
. Abdülaziz preferred Fuad's quick and decisive manner, though he did not grant Fuad the same sort of independence and autonomy that Mehmed Emin Aali had enjoyed under Sultan
Abdülmecid, which Fuad sought.
Fuad was appointed to two full terms as Grand Vizier, though he resigned in 1866 because of his opposition to Abdülaziz's plan to marry
Isma'il Pasha
Isma'il Pasha ( ; 25 November 1830 or 31 December 1830 – 2 March 1895), also known as Ismail the Magnificent, was the Khedive of Egypt and ruler of Sudan from 1863 to 1879, when he was removed at the behest of Great Britain and France. Shari ...
's (the
Khedive
Khedive ( ; ; ) was an honorific title of Classical Persian origin used for the sultans and grand viziers of the Ottoman Empire, but most famously for the Khedive of Egypt, viceroy of Egypt from 1805 to 1914.Adam Mestyan"Khedive" ''Encyclopaedi ...
of
Egypt
Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
) daughter.
Later career and death
Foreign Minister, 1867–1869
Sultan Abdülaziz reappointed Fuad to his final term as foreign minister, due to French and British insistence during revolts in
Crete
Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...
and the threat of Russian intervention. As
Foreign Minister
In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...
, he wrote a political testament with advice to the Sultan regarding an alliance with Great Britain and France based on shared interests and a common enemy of Russia. Fuad demonstrated understanding of Russian expansion and confessed that, “I too would have turned the world upside-down to capture Istanbul.”
He called for the modernization of the Empire to gain legitimacy in France's eyes in order to strengthen these alliances against Russia. He considered Great Britain as the Empire's most important ally and stated, “the English people...will always be the first to have our alliance and we will hold fast to that alliance to the last” and that “we should relinquish several of our provinces rather than see England abandon us”
Regarding France, the Empire should maintain polite relations in order to prevent conflict, rather than hope for protection.
Death, 1869
Mehmed Emin Âli Pasha
Mehmed Emin Âlî Pasha, also spelled as Mehmed Emin Aali (5 March 1815 – 7 September 1871), commonly known as Ali Pasha, was a Turkish people, Turkish–Ottoman Empire, Ottoman statesman during the Tanzimat period, best known as the architec ...
was also reappointed as
Grand Vizier
Grand vizier (; ; ) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. It was first held by officials in the later Abbasid Caliphate. It was then held in the Ottoman Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Soko ...
and went to
Crete
Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...
from 1867 to 1868. While Mehmed Emin Aali was successfully ending the revolt, Fuad was acting Grand Vizier and Foreign Minister, and accompanied Sultan Abdülaziz on a trip through Europe in the summer of 1867. The double burden put considerable strain on Fuad, however, and he sought medical attention and rest in France. He died in
Nice
Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million[French Navy
The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...]
on board the aviso .
Personality and ideology
Fuad was described as being tall, handsome, and loquacious. Compared to Âli, Fuad was couth in western mannerisms, as well as having a more prestigious upbringing and family. Fuad Pasha was an early advocate of
laïcité
(; 'secularism') is the constitutional principle of secularism in France. Article 1 of the French Constitution is commonly interpreted as the separation of civil society and religious society. It discourages religious involvement in governmen ...
, and to that end,
secularism
Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on naturalistic considerations, uninvolved with religion. It is most commonly thought of as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state and may be broadened ...
, in the Ottoman/Turkish politics, the belief that the state should be above religion. He was generally willing to go farther than Âli in reform.
Personal life
Mehmed Fuad married Emine Behiye Hanım, and had two sons, Ahmed Nazım Bey and Kazım Bey. His elder son, Nazım Bey (died 1863)
married Nimetullah Hanım (21 November 1838 – 25 January 1905),
daughter of Şevket Bey, and had two sons, Mustafa Hikmet Bey (2 July 1857 – 6 August 1911) and Reşad Fuad Bey (6 June 1861 – 12 June 1921).
Mustafa Hikmet married Mihrünnisa Hanım, daughter of Hayrullah Efendi and Münteha Hanım, and sister of poet
Abdülhak Hâmid Tarhan.
They had one son, Ahmed Nazım Bey, and one daughter who died in infancy. Reşad Fuad married Behiye Hanım, daughter of
Hayreddin Pasha and his fourth wife Kamer Hanım, and had four sons, Mehmed Hayreddin Fuad Keçeci, Mehmed Salih Keçeci (1893 – 1954), Mehmed Fuad Keçeci (died 1967), and Ali Şevket Fuad Keçeci.
Mehmed Fuad's younger son, Kazım Bey (died 1859)
married Gülbiz Ikbal Hanım, a former Circassian slave, and had a son Izzet Fuad Pasha (1860 — 1925).
Izzet Fuad married the Egyptian princess Fatima Aziza Amina Hanim (1854 – 1895), second daughter of Prince
Mustafa Fazıl Pasha, and his wife Rengi Gul Hanim. They had one son, Kazım Bey.
Fuad Pasha was a
freemason
Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...
.
See also
*
List of Ottoman grand viziers
The grand vizier of the Ottoman Empire ( or ''Sadr-ı Azam'' (''Sadrazam''); Ottoman Turkish language, Ottoman Turkish: or ) was the ''de facto'' prime minister of the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, sultan in the Ottoman Empire, with the absolute p ...
References
Additional sources
* Finkel, Caroline. Osman's Dream: The Story of the Ottoman Empire, 1300-1923. New York: Basic, 2006. Print.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fuad Pasha, Mehmed
1814 births
1869 deaths
19th-century grand viziers of the Ottoman Empire
Pashas
Ottoman people of the Crimean War
Tanzimat
Turks from the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman governors of Damascus
Ottoman governors of Sidon
Ministers of foreign affairs of the Ottoman Empire